Whether you're deciding to take the GMAT or the GRE, or you're merely weeks away from your test day, it is easy to get caught up in the tedious bits of advice that every blog, manual, and friend has to offer. These five key strategies will help ground your long-term testing goals:

It's fun to stand out!

You’re not just any old business major: you’re an innovator. But how do you learn how to disrupt while you’re taking classes that are teaching you all the rules you need to know? Business majors can often get a bad rep for taking cookie-cutter classes that don’t prepare students for the actual business world. That’s why some of the best preparation for business might be far, far away from the business school. Future business leaders need to learn how to improvise and think creatively, but they also need to know how to express themselves eloquently.

One great field you can explore to expand your horizons as an aspiring entrepreneur is creative writing. Here are three reasons why business majors and other tycoons in the making should try their hands at fiction and poetry:

Higher education is getting bad reviews lately. National media lament the high costs and seemingly low returns of advanced degrees – even those that have traditionally stapled a higher paycheck to one’s diploma (metaphorically).

Business schools in particular are criticized for this seeming disconnect. Various traditional career outlets are shrinking their hiring pools or turning a blind eye to expensive MBA applicants altogether. Meanwhile, examples abound of drop-outs earning billions of dollars in romanticized entrepreneurial pursuits.

Most business schools have a core curriculum that is heavily tilted toward quantitative subjects.

Nearly all schools require graduating students to be proficient in basic finance, accounting, economics, and statistics, for example. Many MBAs often speculate that a student’s GMAT score is highly correlated with his or her GPA once at business school. Though this theory seems merited in many respects, it has limitations. However, weighing these counterpoints against affirming evidence, it is clear that MBA applicants must take GMAT preparation seriously not only to gain acceptance to an elite business school, but also to succeed academically once there.

Most MBA applicants put considerable emphasis on their GMAT preparation in order to get into the best schools.

Though the GMAT score is an important aspect of the application, it is just one part of a person’s overall “story” in business school admissions; a great score will not guarantee access to a great school. However, success on the GMAT has additional benefits unrelated to admission. MBA hopefuls should be aware of these continuing “dividends,” and keep them in mind as additional motivators when preparing for the test.